Birds of Prey
Birds of prey are not always large birds. The little sparrow-hawk, the Lowveld’s smallest raptor, is the same size as a dove. Sightings of these birds are so fleeting that they can be confused with doves in flight.
Cainism, also known as siblicide, is demonstrated by a large number of predatory bird species. This is the phenomenon where adults lay two eggs, but the first to hatch is naturally the larger, which quickly outgrows its sibling.
Having the advantage of size and strength over the late-comer, the older sibling aggressively pecks the younger to death, and thereby eliminates any competition for food, or other parental attentions. The second egg is simply laid as an insurance policy, should the first not hatch. A notorious ‘cainism’ perpetrator is the Verreaux’s Eagle.
In South Africa, the African fish eagle is often seen in the Kruger National Park. It is widespread in Southern Africa and particularly comm...
The African marsh harrier has mostly brown plumage with pale streaks on the head, breast and forewings. The thighs and belly are a rufous co...
The African marsh harrier has mostly brown plumage with pale streaks on the head, breast and forewings. The thighs and belly are a rufous co...
The bateleur eagle is the most famous of the snake eagles. Bateleur is French for ‘tightrope-walker’. This name was probably chosen beca...
The most magnificent bird of prey is unquestionably the lammergeier, or bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus; it may also be the most endanger...
The black harrier looks all black when perched, with yellow legs and a yellow eye and cere....
The black-shouldered kite is a small but distinctive bird of prey with grey and white plumage and a black shoulder patch....
The African hawk eagle is a medium to large eagle with a blackish upperpart. It is white below but heavily streaked with black, except on th...
The martial eagle is the largest of the African eagles. They are incredibly powerful and reputedly have enough power in one foot to break a ...
Owls are divided into two main groups or families, the Strigidae and Tytonidae. The tytonids are screeching owls and include the grass and b...
The pygmy falcon is the smallest diurnal raptor, at around 20 cm in length. The pygmy falcon is white below and has a white face, with a gre...
The secretary bird is a bird of prey, but unlike other raptors, it has long a tail and legs. Its most distinctive feature is the 20 black cr...
The brown, Circaetus cinereus, and black-chested, Circaetus pectoralis, snake-eagles are common large raptors in the Lowveld and distinguish...
The jackal buzzard gets its English name from the call it makes, it sounds very similar to a black-backed jackal when calling....
All the eagles belonging to the genus Aquila such as the Wahlberg’s and Tawny eagles are true eagles....
The Verreaux's eagle feeds primarily on rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) but will take a wide range of other mammalian prey including monkey...
Vultures play a vital role in the bush – they clean up dead and decaying carcasses and thereby remove centres of disease....
Kites are named for their habit of hovering like kites when hunting. The Black-shouldered kite will hover at height while tracking its prey,...